Mom's Lifetime Risk of Death from Pregnancy Jumps 50%

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For women in the United States, the lifetime risk of dying from a
pregnancy-related cause has increased 50 percent over the last 15
years, according to a new report.

Women who are 15 years old in 2014 face a lifetime risk of dying
of 1 in 2,400, up from 1 in 3,700 for women who were 15 in the
year 2000, according to the report from the charity organization
Save the Children. That means that in 2014, a woman in America
has the same lifetime risk of
pregnancy-related death as a woman in Iran or Romania, the
report said.

The reason for the increase in the U.S. and other developed
countries is not known, the researchers said. But it could be due
a rise in the number of women with high-risk pregnancies, such as
pregnant women with diabetes, heart disease or obesity; as
well as an increase in women carrying twins and other multiples
(related to treatment with fertility drugs), and more women
having children at older ages, which can increase the risk of
pregnancy and childbirth complications.

"We have a lot more moms who are getting pregnant that have other
medical conditions that can cause an increased risk of maternal
morbidity," said Dr. Melissa Goist, an obstetrician and
gynecologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,
who was not involved in the report.

The U.S. fares worse than most other developed countries in terms
of women's lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death — it ranks 46
out of 178 countries in the world. A woman in the United States
is 10 times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause in
her lifetime as a woman in Estonia, Greece or Singapore, the
report said. [ 9
Uncommon Conditions That Pregnancy May Bring ]

"Even developed countries really need to prioritize women and
children to a greater degree," said Carolyn Miles, president and
CEO of Save the Children. "And the U.S. right now, I would say is
really not doing that," she said.

Several other developed countries have also seen an increase in
maternal death risk in recent years. Since 2000, the lifetime
risk of pregnancy-related death increased 19 percent in
Switzerland, 23 percent in Spain, 27 percent in New Zealand, and
51 percent in Denmark. Still, the report notes that these
countries have some of the lowest risks of maternal death in the
world.

More accurate counts of maternal deaths may also play a role in
the increases, the report said.

To better prioritize women's health in the United States, there
should be an increased focus on risk factors such as obesity and
diabetes, as well as efforts to make sure that every mother has
prenatal care, Miles said.

Goist said that although women often put their child's needs
ahead of their own, women need to take good care of themselves to
be able to care for their children, as well as set a good
example.

"We probably take the worst care of ourselves," Goist said. "We
need to put our health and our wellness ahead of some of the
other things we do."

The
new report, released each year by Save the Children, ranks
the best and worst places in the world to be a mother. The
rankings, called the "Mother's Index," are based on five factors:
A woman's lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death, the rate of
death in children under age 5, a woman's expected years of formal
schooling, the countries' gross national income per person, and
the participation of women in government.

This year, the United States ranked 31 out of 178 countries in
the Mother's Index, just behind South Korea and Poland. The
top-ranking countries were Finland, Norway and Sweden, and the
bottom-ranking countries were Niger, Democratic Republic of the
Congo and Somalia. Most countries that have ranked in the bottom
10 have a recent history of armed conflict and persistent natural
disasters, the report said.

Women and children are 14 times more likely to die in a disaster
than men, the report said. Emergency response programs should
include components that address the specific needs of women and
newborns, such as clean delivery supplies for women who cannot
give birth in a health facility, and mother-baby friendly centers
for
breast-feeding in emergencies, the report said. Even in the
United States, 28 states do not meet the minimum standards for
disaster planning in schools and child care, which include plans
on how to reunite families if disaster strikes, the report said.